Village of Crete Board of Trustee met April 23.

President Michael Einhorn called the regular board meeting of the President and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Crete to order on Monday, April 23, 2018 at 7:00 pm in the municipal building at 524 W. Exchange Street, Crete, Illinois. President Einhorn led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

On a roll call by Village Clerk Deborah Bachert the following were present: Trustees Steve Beaudoin, Doris Harmon-Warren, Stephen Johnson, Holly Milburn, Mark Wiater, and President Michael Einhorn. Trustee Raymond Harley was absent. A quorum was present.

Visitors are always welcome to all public meetings of the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Crete. Interested parties wishing to speak should identify their intent to speak, they then may give their name and where they reside if they so choose and then make their comment. Persons may also provide their address privately to the Village Clerk if they so choose; persons are advised that addresses are considered private information under the Freedom of Information Act and thus are exempt from disclosure pursuant to any Freedom of Information Act request. However, in order to give proper consideration to all items on the agenda, the President has the authority to limit participants in debates and will close repetitive or abusive remarks.

•Nick Borrell: Presentation on Video topics to enhance the Crete experience and to include promotion ideas. Board action may be taken.

Nick Borrell, a resident of Crete, is a videographer offering to do video work for the Village as well as local businesses and organizations in which he will highlight the virtues of the Crete area. The Board discussed how to utilize his services and it was decided that Trustee Holly Milburn will the point of contact between Nick and the Village. Nick has created a web site called MyCrete.org to help achieve the goal of promoting and informing people about Crete and the Crete area.

•Rick Cobb, Crete Chamber President announced a new mural will be placed on a downtown business building which is located on the SW corner of Cass and Main Streets. Permission has been granted from the building owner. There are no permit fees required by the Village. Cost of this new sign was approximately $7000.00.

•Moved to Citizens' Speak for discussion at this time was Item # 4 from New Business. Monday's Main Event: Discussion on the possibility of establishing an event on Main Street and Cass Street on Monday evenings from June 4th through August 27th, 2018 in conjunction with Cruise Nights in downtown Crete. Rick Cobb asked for permission to block Cass Street between Main Street and Wood Street on the Monday Night Cruise evenings. Vendors are being sought for this area. This is in addition to the already established Saturday European Market. The Board agreed with this request, noting there would be restrictions similar to Crete Country Christmas for any alcoholic beverages to be served in the area of Cass Street between Main and Wood Streets. Open alcoholic beverages are not allowed to be carried or consumed throughout the streets.

Approval Of Agenda:

Special orders

Unanimous Consent Agenda

All items on the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a board member so requests, in which event, the item will be removed from the Consent Agenda and will be considered separately.

• Approval of Minutes : Regular Board Meeting - April 09, 2018

•Approval of Bills (04/09/18 thru 04/20/18)

•Ratification of Payroll - Bi-weekly payroll ending April 11, 2018

Trustee Wiater approved the bills of Buildings and Grounds for Trustee Harley. He also asked that Item# 1, 2 and 6 listed under New Business be moved to the consent agenda.

A motion was made to include items # 1, 2 and 6 from New Business in the Consent Agenda, noting Michael Smith will be the appointed person responsible for NIMEC negotiations/agreement for the rates for qualified street lighting.

Motion by Trustee Steve Beaudoin Second by Trustee Doris Harmon-Warren

1. Letter of Understanding between the Village of Crete and State of Illinois concerning IL Route 1 and making improvements of: Sidewalk removal, combination concrete curb and gutter removal and replacement, installation of concrete sidewalks and detectable warnings to conform with ADA, drainage structure and handhole adjustments, placement of pavement markings and by performing all other work necessary to complete the improvement in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. These improvements are located on State routes within the Village's municipal limits.

Items from New Business continued:

2. Proclamation to declare May 12, 2018 as "Fibromyaligia Awareness Day" in the Village of Crete. This is an annual request made by Jodi Foster, Founder/Support Group leader of Fibromites Unite.

6. Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative (NIMEC) will hold their annual Street Light Bid on May 31st. The grouping allows NIMEC to clearly beat ComEd's rates for street lighting accounts. The Village could save $1000.00 annually if choosing to participate in the group bid.

Due to an opinion from the Illinois Attorney General's Office, President Einhorn read aloud the items as listed for approval prior to action being taken on the Consent Agenda with brief explanations.

A motion was made to approve the Unanimous Consent Agenda with the additions as listed above.

1. Letter of resignation has been received from John Stoll, member of Planning and Zoning. His job currently involves travel and interferes with his ability to attend meetings.

2. The Surf Air Wireless carrier has equipment at the water tower located at Fire Station II. They have been notified to either remove the equipment on site or enter into a payment plan with the Village.

3. Plans continue on the alley just west of Main Street. Most business owners along the alley have met with the Village to discuss ideas and concerns for the upgrade.

4. The Village is considering entering into an agreement with Countryside Bank. They offer a CEDRS program involving government Certificate of Deposits. It could benefit the Village to place money not being used in this type of CD for short time periods. Interest received would be deposited into the account the monies had been invested from.

5. The school district has requested the Village supply a School Resource Officer (SRO) for the high school which would involve 185 days a year (school year). The Department of Justice may be creating a grant for this specific purpose to help with funding. No decision was made at this meeting.

6. Governor Rauner has signed a bill that had been opposed by IML which will allow satellite equipment to be placed on electric polls within villages.

Public Health - Trustee Doris Harmon-Warren - no report

Water Department - Trustee Stephen Johnson

• Hydrant flushing is approximately halfway through the process.

•Will be meeting with Tech 3 on Tuesday, April 24th concerning the iron removal process.

Public Safety - Trustee Steven Beaudoin – no report

Building and Grounds - Trustee Raymond Harley - no report

Finance, License and Ordinance - Trustee Mark Wiater

• The annual TIF Joint Board of Review met on April 19th.

Road and Bridge - Trustee Holly Milburn

•The Finishing Touch Florist is one of 102 finalists in a mentoring program competition. This August will be the 40th Anniversary of the Finishing Touch florist.

Committee And Department Reports:

Acting Village Administrator - Michael Smith

•Parade donation request letters have been mailed to the residents of Crete.

•The next parade meeting will be Thursday, April 26, 8 am at the Village Hall. All volunteers are welcome. Meetings will be weekly in May.

Police Department - Chief of Police James Paoletti

•Concern was voiced over the issues experienced when tickets were issued to residents during the "No Parking on Village Streets" ruling after a 2 inch snowfall. Municipal Code must be interpreted and a decision needs to be communicated to the residents prior to next year's snow season.

Police Department - Deputy Chief Scott Pieritz

• Announced from April 23 - 27 is a Statewide Program called “Distracted Driver Awareness Week".

Fire Department - Fire Administrator/Chief Mike Waterman

• Lynn Wier invited all board members to the FD training session on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at the former Cal's restaurant. This building will be demolished next week.

• EMA received $250.00 from the Crete Lions Club. The fire and police departments also received $250.00 each.

Animal Control/Code Enforcement Officer - Ryan Allison – no report

Planning Commission - Karen Tellef - no report

Heritage & Architecture Commission - Phyllis Monks - no report

Communications:

Warrants:

Excise (Telecom. Tax) - (Col.) 2018-$; 2017-$

Local Use - (Col. ) 2018-$; 2017-$

Sales Tax - (Col. February) 2018-$51,011.02; 2017-$48,729.80

Sales Tax of /2 percent - (Col. ) 2018-$18,643.02; 2017-$ no history

Income Tax - (Col. ) 2018-$; 2017-$

MFT Allotment - (Col. March) 2018-$16,046.29; 2017-$15,140.78

Pers. Prop. Rep. Tax-(Col. April) 2018-$ 5,967.86; 2017-$ 8,108.82

ComEd Utility Tax (Col.) 2018-$; 2017-$

Nicor Utility Tax (Col.) 2018-$; 2017-$

Video Gaming Report (Col. ) 2018-$; 2017-$

•Reminder: Misericordia Candy Days are scheduled for 4/27/18 and 4/28/18. Representatives will be at the corner of Main and Exchange Streets during daylight hours. Permission was given for this event at the Village Board Meeting held on August 14, 2017.

•The Illinois State Board of Education Division Manager for Nutrition and Wellness Programs sent a letter requesting participation in the Summer Food Service Program to help fight hunger during the summer months. Contact by calling (800) 545-7892 or emailing Amy Bianco at abianco@isbe.net or Megan Kuchar at mkuchar@isbe.net.

•April 12th letter from BP Pipelines (North America) Inc. notified the Village of a close interval survey on its existing pipeline running through or in close proximity to 1045 Main Street. The survey activities will start the week of May 1, 2018. If more information is needed, contact Patrick Blake, Right of Way agent for BP Pipelines at (331) 702-3147 or via email at blake.patrick@bp.com.

Old Business:

1. Discussion on the denied masonry variance request for 280 W. Exchange from the May 22, 2017 Village Board Meeting. Board action may be taken.

The cost to complete the EMA building with masonry outside walls far exceeds the planned expenditure.

A motion was made to rescind the motion made by the Village Board on May 22, 2017 which denied the request for the variance to allow for the use of exterior finish material other than masonry.

Previously, in May 2017 the Board denied the variance request from the all masonry requirement of the code base upon discussions at the time and citizen input. Citizens objected and wanted an all masonry building, the cost of which would add significantly to the total project cost. At the time there was not a good estimate for the building. At this board meeting a budget sheet was presented which indicate a cost of a partial masonry building to over $750,000.00. The Board discussed various combinations of masonry and metal understanding more accurate cost numbers would be presented at the next meeting for different combinations of steel and masonry.

A motion was made to approve the request for the variance to allow for the use of exterior finish material other than masonry.

Village staff will investigate masonry and non-masonry combinations. There may be a vote in the future on what materials are approved for use on the exterior finish.

2. LED Sign Update

The sign to be located at Circle K continues to be discussed. This sign is to be a "way-finding" type sign.

Rick Cobb, Crete Chamber President, offered to place a directional sign on the top of the chamber sign that points towards downtown Crete. This sign is located in Crete Township on the east side of Route 394 at Exchange Street.

New Business:

1. Letter of Understanding between the Village of Crete and State of Illinois concerning IL Route 1 and making improvements of: Sidewalk removal, combination concrete curb and gutter removal and replacement, installation of concrete sidewalks and detectable warnings to conform with ADA, drainage structure and handhole adjustments, placement of pavement markings and by performing all other work necessary to complete the improvement in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. These improvements are located on State routes within the Village's municipal limits. Board action is anticipated.

Moved to Consent Agenda for action taken.

2. Proclamation to declare May 12, 2018 as "Fibromyaligia Awareness Day" in the Village of Crete. This is an annual request made by Jodi Foster, Founder/Support Group leader of Fibromites Unite. Board action is anticipated.

Moved to Consent Agenda for action taken.

3. Discussion on the request by Borrego Solar Systems for Special Use Permit for two, 2MW ground-mounted distributed solar farm facilities located on two separate existing parcels of farmland. Each parcel is approximately 80 acres located at the SEQ E. Goodenow RD/S Park Ave. Board action may be taken.

No objections or strong feelings were expressed by board members.

4. Discussion on expanding the ambulance billing for service type calls and treatment of the no transport calls. Board action may be taken.

A suggestion has been made to charge $250.00 if treatment to a patient (such as drugs) is made when an ambulance has been dispatched and the patient refuses transportation to the hospital. The treatment would be anything above taking vital signs. The Village attorney will draft the appropriate papers for next meeting.

5. Monday's Main Event: Discussion on the possibility of establishing an event on Main Street and Cass Street on Monday evenings from June 4th through August 27th, 2018 in conjunction with Cruise Nights in downtown Crete. Board action may be taken.

Moved to Citizens' Speak for discussion.

6. Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative (NIMEC) will hold their annual Street Light Bid on May 31st. The grouping allows NIMEC to clearly beat ComEd's rates for street lighting accounts. The Village could save $1000.00 annually if choosing to participate in the group bid. Board action may be taken.

Moved to Consent Agenda for action taken.

A motion was made to close the regular session of the board meeting and to move to executive session at 9:34 pm for the purpose of Collective negotiating matters between the Village and MAP and Litigation which is probable or imminent.